Application deadline plus one week

Blog readers may be wondering how the application processing is going. And the answer is FANTASTIC! I’ve already noted that having Kartik, Lauren, and Caitlin in the office during the break was a gift, and we were in unbelievably good shape when the paper started to attack. Since Tuesday, we’ve been closing the office in the morning to minimize disruptions, and we’ve all alternated application processing with the other stuff for which we’re responsible.

At this point, broadly speaking, applications can be found in several different places:
1. Stuck in “the system” waiting for recommendations to be submitted.
2. On a table, waiting to be put in a file folder.
3. In a folder, waiting to be paired with transcripts and other materials we have already received by mail.
4. In a box, waiting for transcripts (or whatever) to arrive by mail.
5. In a different box, waiting for a student to read them.
6. In yet another box, waiting for a member of the Admissions Staff to read them.
7. On someone’s desk, waiting for final Committee discussion or processing.

We start reviewing applications as soon as they’re complete. The student members of the Committee on Admissions are all back in town now, and they have reading targets to meet. After they do their work, the Admissions staff can get started on serious reading — no more grabbing the occasional handful.

There are a few hundred files that we just formed today, and we’ll be updating each applicant’s information in the Graduate Application Management System. Until that batch was printed, we were up-to-date on all the updating. In other words, applicants whose materials have all arrived will be seeing reassuring information in a timely way on the Graduate Application Management System. Applicants whose recommendations or transcripts (or whatever) are lagging behind the application should continue to be patient.

Thanks for continuing to update this blog despite the plethora of applications that are pouring in! From an applicant’s point of view, it is really nice to see how things are progressing, even if it’s very general.